The present invention relates to an ammunition transfer device for transferring ammunition from a magazine to at least one transfer arm of an azimuth adjustable weapon that is rotatable about a trunnion, and more particularly to such a device in which the ammunition transfer arm moves together with the weapon and tilts up to a maximum predetermined angle .beta.' during azimuth adjustment of the weapon.
German Offenlegungsschrift [laid-open patent application] No. 3,132,215, discloses mounting a rotary turret in the chassis of an armored Vehicle by means of a slewing ring, with a weapon, for example a cannon, that is adjustable in elevation being mounted in the rotary turret. In order to realize a low silhouette and a large crew compartment, the slewing ring is arranged within the chassis in an oblique plane with a forward inclination relative to the plane of the bottom of the vehicle so that the oblique plane of the slewing ring is at a predetermined angle to the height axis of the vehicle, the height axis of the vehicle being defined herein as a line normal to the plane of the bottom of the vehicle. When adjusting the azimuth of the turret, the maximum tilt angle of the trunnion axis thus equals the angle of inclination of the slewing ring, which occurs at an azimuth angle of 90.degree. in either direction from the forward direction of the vehicle.
It is also known to provide armored howitzers and the like with an automatic flow of ammunition. In that connection, projectiles are transported by transporting devices from points of removal of the ammunition from a magazine, where the projectiles are taken by loading devices to a position behind the weapon system and finally loaded into the gun barrel by a rammer.
If the ammunition is transported by transfer arms which have holding devices for holding the ammunition and which are pivotal about the trunnions of the gun, the holding devices are able to easily accept the ammunition when the transfer arms are in the pivoted-away position as long as, in every position of the turret, the ammunition is at the same angle as the ammunition component to be picked up and taken from the magazine.
If, however, an obliquely arranged slewing ring is employed which leads to the trunnion axis tilting during azimuth adjustment of the gun, as described above, the transfer arms tilt as well so that, during the automatic flow of ammunition from a magazine to the gun, the corresponding alignment of the ammunition relative to the transfer arms, which would permit the transfer, would not be ensured.
European Patent 0,123,012 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,265 disclose the use of two wedge-shaped, superposed, mutually rotatable rotary discs to horizontally adjust a weapon platform, with the wedge faces of these discs facing one another and carrying the weapon platform.